Today feminism is talked about in the media regularly. It is discussed, debated, praised and attacked. As you all have seen, we are doing a series called “What Feminism Means to Me”, because the reality is that “feminism” does not have one universal meaning on which all people agree. It has become a more personal term that differs from feminist to feminist. But before I share how I experience feminism I want to acknowledge that I am not saying that how I view feminism is the “right way” or that anyone else is wrong. There is also no way that I am able to fully describe and do justice to my interpretation of feminism in just a few paragraphs, so I will focus on just one aspect.
That being said, I am going to start out with the things that I do not believe. First of all, I do not believe that all men are sexist and I do not hate men. I do not look down on women who choose to fully embrace motherhood and stay at home with their children just as I do not look down on women who choose to fully embrace motherhood and have another career as well. I also do not look down on women who choose to not have children. And above all else I do not believe that any one person is inherently better or worse than another based on their gender, sex, religion, race, sexuality or any other part of their identity.
So what do I believe? One aspect that I believe feminism promotes is choice, not just for women, not just for white people, not just for Christians. I believe that the goal of feminism is to allow everyone to have as many choices as they are able. To me that means that if you can afford to take time off from work to be with your kids and that’s what you want to do–then do it. If you want to pursue a career and are given the chance to thrive–go for it. However, the reality is that to have options there must be power of some kind. We do not all have the same opportunities as everyone else, often due to things out of our control. I believe that this is something that feminists are fighting to change.
Yes, there is a long way to go. Is this a goal that can actually be achieved? I have no idea. We will have to wait and see how this and the may other aspects of feminism play out.